Go
New
Find
Notify
Tools
Reply
  
Digit Login/Join
 
Member
posted
Having had the error of my peevologist tendencies shown to me recently, I must frame this question carefully: Does "digit" still have anything to do with fingers and toes? How did it come to mean computers, photographs, etc? I can't help it; when I hear the term, "digital photography, I think of photographs of someone's fingers and toes. Roll Eyes


It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. -J. Krishnamurti
 
Posts: 6172 | Location: Muncie, IndianaReply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of zmježd
posted Hide Post
Does "digit" still have anything to do with fingers and toes?

This meaning still ties with the one for 'a number symbol', e.g., in the Arabic numbering system (base-10), the digits are 0 – 9; in hexadecimal (base-16) 0 – F. In Latin the primary meaning of digitus was 'finger', and that was extended to 'toe'. An alternative meaning was a unit of measurement, roughly a Roman inch, ca.3/4", 16 to the foot (pes). Concerning its adjectival form, digital started out meaning values stored on some recording medium as discrete numbers. Then there's digitalis 'foxglove' (cf. German Fingerhut, literally, 'finger' + 'hat'), whence the medicine.

As for your peeving ways, Geoff, I wouldn't worry about it. We, all of us, peeve from time to time. My pet peeve is peevologists. Wink


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
 
Posts: 5148 | Location: R'lyehReply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of Kalleh
posted Hide Post
That reminds me of one of my favorite words, prestidigitator, which we've discussed here before.

[BTW, in rereading that old thread, I see that I used to like etymology.com. I don't anymore because I feel that they just copy from the OED.]
 
Posts: 24735 | Location: Chicago, USAReply With QuoteReport This Post
  Powered by Social Strata  
 


Copyright © 2002-12